Wednesday, February 8, 2006
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Poll Shows Brown With Big Lead in A.G. Race
Delgadillo Spokesman Questions Figures, Says City Attorney Undeterred
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A poll taken on behalf of Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown’s campaign shows the former governor with a substantial lead over Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo for the Democratic Party nomination for state attorney general, the campaign reported yesterday.
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates said it surveyed 370 likely Democratic primary voters late last month. The claimed error margin for the poll is plus or minus 5 percent.
The pollster found that Brown enjoys a 45-14 percent edge over Delgadillo, his only announced opponent. The remaining 41 percent said they wanted someone else, did not know who they would vote for, or did not support any candidate.
The firm said that Brown came out ahead among key Democratic voting groups, especially liberals, union members, and voters over 50; is ahead by a two-to-one margin in the Los Angeles area, and holds a slight margin among Latino voters—a strong source of support for Brown in past campaigns.
Delgadillo, if elected, would be the first Hispanic attorney general of the state.
The Delgadillo campaign questioned the figures, and said the poll would in no way discourage Delgadillo from moving forward in his campaign.
“Rocky has been the underdog before,” spokesman Roger Salazar said. “This is nothing new to him,’’ Salazar said. “Just before his election as city attorney he was down by 31 points.”
The spokesman continued:
“This is an uphill fight, but that’s one of the reasons why we’re excited. We want to shake things up and make some history. There’s no quit in Rocky.”
The campaign announced last week that it had garnered the endorsement of the California Teachers Association, which joined more than a dozen state and local labor groups that had previously endorsed Delgadillo.
The city attorney is also supported by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, state senators Richard Alarcon, D-San Fernando Valley, Kevin Murray D-Los Angeles, Gil Cedillo D-Los Angeles, †Sheila Kuehl D-Los Angeles), Denise Ducheny D-San Diego, and Assemblymen Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, Jerome Horton, D-Inglewood, Joe Baca Jr., D-Rialto, and Juan Arambula, D-Fresno.
Delgadillo, 45, has served as city attorney since June 5, 2001. Running unopposed, he was re-elected to a second four-year term in March 2005.
Brown, 70, served as California governor from 1975 to 1983, following future President Ronald Reagan and his father, Pat Brown. A graduate of Yale Law School, Brown also made a run at the Democratic presidential nominations in 1976 and 1992.
Brown has been Oakland’s mayor since 1998. He won re-election in 2002 by taking 64 percent of the vote.
Copyright 2006, Metropolitan News Company